The Riddle of Time
by Femvamp
Summary: Galactica has found Earth but that is just the beginning of the adventure. ***Now finished*** UPDATE: A few people have commented about formatting issues I have corrected most of them I think I hope that helps - please comment on story. Thanks
1. Home is Where The Federation Is

**Chapter 1: Home is Where The Federation Is**

Sometimes you have to roll a hard eight. Laura Roslin knew that better then most. After everything they had been through. After years of searching. Years of fighting. They had finally found Earth.

And it was already occupied.

The United Federation of Planets. Stronger, faster…bigger then both the rebel Cylons and the humans combined forces; they were no match even if they were in the mood to fight. And Laura knew they weren't. They were too hungry, too tired, too broken.

They were home.

They had found Earth almost by accident. It had been Starbuck. It always seemed to be Starbuck. Roslin half beloved that the Gods smiled special over her. Kara Thrace always seemed to be just what they needed just when they needed it. Kara had accidently jumped one of the raptors almost smack dab into what they later would discover was a Federation Starship. She had jumped away soon after thinking it was a Cylon base ship. The captain of the Federation ship had been intrigued and followed them and soon enough….

They were home.

The ship that met them was called Enterprise and was captained by a Jean Luc Picard. A man who reminded her of Bill, or at least of Bill who hadn't been broken by time, war and the deception of his best friend. Finding out your oldest and dearest buddy was a Cylon could break any man and Bill might have been the mightiest of men but he was still a man. And he was broken, far more then she was. Finding out that Tory was a Cylon had hurt her deeply as well but nowhere near as much as Bill was hurting.

Jean Luc Picard had offered her all the pleasantries of a dignitary and she had played the part. He had only been a little surprised when Lee had insisted that guards accompany her. Laura had almost told him no, when the Captain had waved it off with a smile. Laura quickly discovered why the Federation had sent him. Jean Luc Picard was equal parts soldier, politician, and mediator. He was dangerous, but then again so was she.

Bill was working off another hangover. It was his third or possible his fourth. Laura had lost count. It didn't matter; he had been there for her through her cancer she would be there for him through this. He had been on what seemed to be a constant bender ever since he found out that Saul Tigh was a Cylon. Roslin hoped he just needed some time to adjust to the news. And if he didn't snap himself out of it, she could always throw him in the brig until he sobered up, it's not like anyone would stop her. It was a running joke. The only one the crew of Galactica feared more then Bill was her.

Captain Picard showed her and her guards around his ship which was very different then any ship she had ever seen. It was cleaner and far more high tech. She was half scared at what the Cylons could do to it given half a chance. She wondered what they were thinking about their new friends, she made a note to ask them the next time she spoke with the rebel Cylons.

"This is a fine ship you have Captain."

"Than you Madam President." Captain Picard said cordially.

"Please call me Laura."

"Only if you call me Jean Luc."

After the formalities had been taken care of they talked about minor things for awhile. Laura liked Captain Picard. She wasn't quite sure about his first Officer Will Riker. He seemed to have an air of superiority about him that irked Laura, but then again who was she to judge? This new world they found themselves was both great and terrifying. The first time she met Lt. Worf she had almost screamed in terror. He looked like a monster in one of her nightmares. Now, like most of the crew of Galactica she liked the Klingon. He was a warrior, and she respected that.

A strange new world indeed.

It was Mr. Data that frightened her the most. He was a machine like the Cylons. She had warned the Captain to keep him away from both the Colonials and the Cylons rebels. There was no telling how they would react to a machine as a Federation crew member, even if he was one of a kind. She had a hard enough time accepting it, and she was a politician.

However they were a desperate people and they needed the Federation and the Federation was kind and helped them more then they had to. For the first time in what seemed like forever they were able to rest. To sleep. To dream. For the first time in what seemed like forever they could close their eyes and not see death.

For the most part The Federation, the Colonials and the Cylon rebels were getting along. There was some fighting but nothing that couldn't be handled discreetly. For the most part everything was going along smoothly. It was also quickly discovered that the Colonials and the Cylons weren't coming to the table empty handed. They had a good deal of technology that the Federation lacked and the Federation was always in the market for technology.

This was all good. Now all Laura had to do was sober Bill up and get him talking to Saul again and possibly talk to that fancy doctor Crusher about her cancer and everything would be great. Not bad for a dying President of the dead twelve colonies if she did say so herself.


	2. All Along

**Chapter 2: All Along**

Troi walked into Captain Picard's Ready Room. He had called for her to discuss her meeting with several of the people on board Galactica. They were of course informal meetings and purely voluntary but he wanted to know if any of the their new friends were dangerous and if they could be trusted. The treaty between the Colonials, the Cylons and the Federation was too important.

The wars with the Borg and the Dominion had taken its toll. An entire generation of officers had died fighting the Borg and the Dominion. The fleet had dwindled down to its lowest numbers since the war with the Klingons. Things were going badly for the Federation. They could use the new blood. Even Cylon blood.

The Cylons were interesting to her. They were like Data but with blood like humans. Part machine, part human. She wasn't quite sure how human and how much were machine, she wasn't sure if even they knew but seeing the same face over and over again did take some getting used to.

"So what do you think of our new friends Counselor?"

"They are an interesting group Captain." The Betazoid Consoler smiled, "On a psychological level they are all suffering from depression and PSTD. Especially the humans. The Cylons are fairing better but not by much."

"Yes, about the Cylons." Picard paused, "What do you make of them."

"If you are asking if I can sense emotion from them, then the answer is yes," She paused for a moment, "They have the emotional makeup of a child, but they do have emotions." Dianna paused, "There are only a few members of the colonies that I can't get a firm read on and that is what worries me Captain."

"Which ones?" The Captain asked intrigued.

"One of them is the President."

***********************-88888888-************************

"Well Madam President that should do it." Doctor Crusher smiled.

"That's it?" Laura said in awe, "After all that you put a metal tool to my neck and poof, no more cancer."

Doctor Crusher smiled, "It's called a hypo spray and it's not quite that simple, but yes."

"So she's cured?" Bill asked hopefully.

"Yes, I'd still like to see her a few more times, just to check on her blood count and her general health but she should be good. Her stats show that the cancer is gone."

Laura smiled and hugged Bill who hugged her back almost immediately, "See Bill, and we thought I wasn't going to get any relief."

******************************/*****************************

"So how are things going with the Federation people?" Starbuck asked Lee.

"Not so bad, we have had a few fights. Mostly things have gone smoothly. The Cylons don't comply trust them or us but that's to be expected."

"I don't get it. After all this, Earth is already taken."

"What's to get? The thirteenth Colony is colonized. We just didn't consider it. At least they're friendly and willing to help. What freaks me out is the other stuff."

"What the aliens? I like Klingons."

"You would."

"They're not so bad once you get past their faces. The Vulcans are who freak me out. They don't drink or smoke, you can't trust someone who doesn't drink, smoke or play cards."

"You have too many vices Kara, has anyone ever told you that?"

"Not lately."

***************************/&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"So the plan is set."

"Yes."

"The Federation won't involve themselves in other people's civil affairs."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I asked several different people. It's a rule. If we plan this right we can take over Galactica and get rid of the Cylons once and for all and the Federation won't be able to stop us."

"And they will deal with us."

"If they want our technology, they won't have a choice."

"Good."

*********************************/*********************************

Laura smiled protected in the arms of Bill Adama as she slept. They both dreamt peacefully. The only noise came from the low humming from Laura.


	3. A Good Day To Die

**A/N:** I use dialog from the show in this chapter.

**Chapter 3: A Good Day to Die**

The Enterprise crew was called back to the Enterprise so that crews on Galactica could take care of some minor problems. The crews still on board offered to help but Galactica members told them that they could take care of it. The problem was in a part of the ship the Federation wasn't allowed yet At least not until the treaty was signed.

It was a trick though. The Enterprise crewmembers that didn't go along freely were made to go. Before anyone knew what was happening a mutiny was at hand.

Tom Zarek and Felix Gaeta had taken control of Galactica. Many of the crew had taken offence to being forced to work with Cylons and finding out that many of their trusted comrades like Chief Tyrol, Sam Anders and Saul Tigh were Cylons was too much to bear. Soon Sam and Saul as well as Saul's pregnant Cylon girlfriend Caprica Six were in the brig.

Roslin managed to escape to the Cylon baseship but left without Bill Adama who stayed behind to fight to the bitter end. She understood it was his way.

Picard tried to contact Galactica to see what was happening. Several of his crew had been beamed aboard, some with concussions, after several attempts he finally got an answer.

"This is Felix Gaeta, Commander of Galactica you are to keep out of our affairs until we have control of the situation. This is not your concern. This is an internal problem. We are not asking for assistance. I repeat. We are not asking for assistance."

Picard turned to Will Riker, "Commander Gaeta, since when?"

"Apparently there's a mutiny on Galactica." Riker said simply, "What do you want to do Captain?"

"There is nothing we can do." Picard said simply "He is right, as long as they don't fire on us or cause any Federation ship or planets harm we can not intervene."

"Sir I've intercepted a signal" Data interrupted, "It's not meant for us it's sent directly to the Cylon base ship."

"Let's hear it."

"Saul Tigh was killed attempting to escape." The voice of Tom Zarek paused, "Bill Adama was tried and found guilty of his crimes. The firing squad executed him this morning its done Laura, You have to think about the people of this fleet now, and surrender."

Picard noticed the deck had gone silent. No one said a word. Everyone was waiting for Laura's response. After what seemed like forever but was only a few moments Laura spoke.

"No." Laura paused, "Not now. Not ever. Do you hear me? I will use every cannon. Every bomb, every bullet, every weapon I have down to my own eyeteeth to end you. I swear it! I am coming for all of you!"

No one spoke. No one said anything. The only sound that could be heard on the bridge of the Enterprise was Worf snarling.


	4. A Hole in the Bucket

**Chapter 4: A Hole in The Bucket**

Captain Picard had expected to hear from Roslin and Adama immediately after the siege had ended but he didn't hear from them for another day. He found out later that both Gaeta and Zarek had been executed. Riker wasn't happy but again Picard couldn't do anything about it.

Picard was worried about Riker. His dislike of Roslin could be a problem. The truth was that they needed the treaty as much as the Colonials and the Cylons did. The last few years had been tough on the Federation and another war would decimate them. They needed what the survivors of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol and Rebel Cylons could give them. Whether Riker liked it or not.

The attempted mutiny had cost number of lives and there were a lot of injuries. Some were taken care of on Galactica. Some were brought to the Enterprise. One in particular, Sam Anders had been shot in the head. He was a Final Five Cylon.

"What the Hell is a Final Five Cylon."

"They are hard to explain Commander." Roslin said simply, "We're not complexly sure ourselves. Until recently we weren't even sure they were real and not just a Cylon story."

"OK tell me what you know then."

Roslin paused, "Just that the Cylons have twelve models. Seven have been known to us. Four were discovered recently. There is supposedly one more which we don't know of. Dianna Biers was supposed to know who it was but she says she doesn't."

"So Sam Anders is one."

"Yes."

"Who are the other three?"

"Saul Tigh, Tory Foster, and Galen Tyrol."

Picard was about to ask another question when Roslin fainted. He immediately called sickbay and had them both beamed directly to sickbay. The doctor quickly checked her vitals. After a few moments Roslin woke up.

"Well…uh..

"What is it? She alright?"

"She's fine." Doctor Crusher said simply, "But we do need to talk later, Madam President."

"Is her Cancer back?" Tory asked.

"No." Doctor Crusher said simply.

"Then what is it?" Starbuck asked concerned, "The old man will want to know."

"Its OK." Roslin said trying to get her bearings. "You might as well tell them."

"She's pregnant." The Doctor said simply.

"That's not possible." Tory stated.

They all knew after Roslin's cancer treatments that she couldn't have children. It was a side affect of the treatments given to her aboard Galactica. That was part of the reason why they were made illegal, that and the fact that they made you crazy.

"It is if…."

"Isn't Federation technology wonderful?" Roslin asked simply.

Tigh was about to speak again when Anders began to speak loudly again.

"….there is a hole in the bucket that must be repaired before it can be as one with the universe. The ties that bind choke you to death. When the children die the parents die. The circle of life must not end. The end is the beginning not the end. "

"How long has he been doing this?" Roslin asked.

"Since I removed the bullet from his head."

"….All things must begin. And all things must end. It is the way of all things. Children are the future and the past. Children can not come into their own until their parents die but when their parents die they are on their own………."

Roslin sits back into bed and passes out. Doctor Crusher looks at her worried and then at Anders not sure which one to help first.

"Can you stop him?" Picard asks.

"I can try." Doctor Crusher walked toward Anders and tried to press a hypo spray to his neck but he grabbed her arm.

"The dying leader will lead them to earth to find Locustus of Borg. Locustus holds the key. Kara Thrace is the harbinger or Death. She will lead them to their end. We are Borg."


	5. Before the War

**Chapter 5: Before the War**

Doctor Crusher froze. She knew it was just her imagination but she could have sworn the room got cold. Suddenly Anders dropped her arm and she jumped away and on instinct turned to Captain Picard and saw that he hadn't moved a muscle. His face was blank.

That's when it happened, the room erupted in chaos. Doctor Crusher was about to demand everyone leave when the lights suddenly blinked off and on and then off again. Every computer in med lab blinked off and on.

"What the fraking hell?" Saul Tigh said worried.

"Now what?" Will asked exasperated.

"Error. Error. Does not compute. System shutdown not recommended. Rebooting. Downloading from outside system. Please stand by." Roslin began to speak still unconscious the same way Anders had before, "Locutus of Borg holds the key. The dying leader will lead them to Earth. The hub must be destroyed. We are Borg. Kara Thrace is the harbinger of death. The circle must end. The beginning must end at the beginning or the end. The dying leader will lead them to the end. We are Borg."

"Oh this is not good." Lee said simply.

"Laura Roslin is the Final Cylon." Saul Tigh said in awe.

"The old man's not going to like this."

"What make's you think he doesn't already know."

"Frak. This is not good."

"Laura Roslin is the dying leader. The dying leader will lead them to Earth. The One will bring the Hub and the circle will be complete. Locutus holds to the key. The hub must be destroyed."

"Someone get the old man, now." Saul Tigh yelled at no one in particular "Why the hell isn't he here?"

One of the Cylons left the sickbay in search of the Admiral who came in a few minutes later. Almost as soon as he did Roslin's eyes opened. She looked directly at Adama and chuckled, "Well we know who the Final Cylon is now Bill."

"Apparently."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. It seems I'm a Cylon magnet." He looked at Saul Tigh and shrugged, "I've gotten used to it. It seems that's not the only interesting news today."

"I hate to put a damper on things, but can someone explain what is going on?" It was Picard.

"I think I owe them an explanation Bill."

"Yes, what the hell is a Borg?" Saul asked Laura.

"We are Borg." Laura paused as all the Federation officers in the room flinched, "Ok the sounded wrong even to me. By the way, tell your engineering staff that the port cells need to be fixed in the lower decks something called a hollow deck is broken on deck four."

Picard smiled at some of her mispronunciation but then frowned, "How do you know this?"

"Your computer told me." Roslin smiled, "Oh boy this is going to take some getting used to, ok I have some explaining to do. The Borg were not always the Borg you know. About three thousand years ago give or take a century they were humanoid. They discovered computer technology but unlike earth or even the twelve colonies they didn't go outward with the technology they went inward. They put chips into their skin." Roslin turned to Doctor Crusher, "Think about it Doctor, a chip with a patients medical history, the history of their entire family. It would simplify things if you didn't have all these medical doodads."

Doctor Crusher thought about it. Roslin was correct. Technology had jumped by leaps and bound but it hadn't always been that way. At times it had been difficult to get patients correct medical history and having it in a chip under their skin might sound scary but it was practical.

"Well as time went on, not only medical info was on the chip but financial as well. And then everything you ever wanted or needed to know was there at your fingertips." Roslin paused, "All this happened in a few generations. Then something happened children were born….different. They were born adaptable to the technology. The chips became outdated, obsolete. Suddenly other methods were far simpler. Less invasive methods. "

Roslin paused again and saw that everyone was listening to her with rapt attention, "And then the great technology that was supposed to make our childrens lives easier….." Roslin paused, "We discovered….there were no children. None at all. Of course we panicked. Tried everything and anything to make children. Soon our methods fell into two major groups. Oh of course there were fringe groups but in the end there were two main sides. The Borg and the Cylons. They weren't called that of course; honestly I don't remember what they were called anymore but for the sake of argument let's call them that."

"Ok I'm assuming you were on the Cylon side." Doctor Crusher said simply.

"Yes, the five of us were." Roslin paused as her head began to hurt. She tried to will the headache she was feeling away. She knew she had to finish the story, "The war was going badly there were more of them. Their strategy was better. Strength through unity of thought. One mind. There was no doubt. No hesitation. They just did." Roslin pause, "With us there was all doubt. Our strategy wasn't very well thought out. Live until we have children. Downloading was in its infant stages and worked maybe twenty percent of the time. We were losing. Then the five of us agreed to what was basically a suicide mission."

Laura paused again and looked directly at Saul Tigh "When you're not drunk you're actually a pretty smart guy. You actually got our chance to download up to fifty/fifty. We didn't tell the others that, of course. It was much better for everyone if they thought it was a suicide mission. Tory secretly built a ship with the help of Galen and we set it off a few months before the mission."

"What mission?" Bill asked.

"We were sent to destroy the hub." Roslin said simply.

"Obviously we failed." Tigh snorted.

"We miscalculated." Roslin corrected, "We didn't know the hub was a person."

"The Queen." Picard stated understanding.

"Ahh you've met." Roslin snorted.

"We've been introduced." He said simply.

_Roslin snuck passed the fallen drone hoping it was dead. The plan had gone off better then she had hoped. She could hear Sam and Saul behind her. She had no idea where Tory and Galen were. She hoped they were still alive. The plan was actually working. They might just get out of this alive._

_Roslin looked up. If the intelligence was correct this was the door to the hub. Once she got in all she had to do was download the virus into the hub and the drones would be on their own. No longer thinking with one mind. She opened the door._

"_Hello Laura….."_

"We miscalculated. And when we downloaded we tried to go back but….downloading was still new…..what seemed like minutes to us was years. The war was over." Roslin paused, "We moved on. Our ship traveled at sub light speed, time stopped for us but moved for everyone else. Two thousand years it took us to get to the Twelve Colonies. We convinced the Cylons to end the war in return for technology to make the seven human-form models. The first was the Cavils. He grew angry and hateful. He eventually decided he didn't like the deal the centurions made and killed us and erased our memories and gave us all front row seat to the _Apocalypse_, He wanted to punish us. To teach us that humans are evil. I don't know why, but he hates us, almost as much as he hates them."

************/**********************************

Laura sat on the bed she shared with Bill and watched him as he drank. She hated to see him like this but she understood. Finding out the two people he loved most were both Cylons was a bit much.

"I can leave."

"No."

"The baby is yours."

"I know." Bill paused, "You're a lot of things, unfaithful is not one of them."

Laura smiled, "I didn't know."

"Neither did he."

"This stopped being funny a long time ago."

"Another magic baby." Bill laughed.

"What?"

"This makes four now."

"What?"

"Four magic babies." Bill laughed, "This is very funny. Or maybe I'm just very drunk. Saul and me are going to be changing diapers for our magic Cylon babies."

Laura laughed, "Ok it's a little funny."


	6. The Harbinger of Death

**Chapter 6: The Harbinger of Death**

Kara Thrace was one of the few people who actually like going on patrols along what the Federation called the Alpha Quadrant. The rest of the fleet called it a waste of time but Admiral Adama continued to send Raptors out on patrols with both humans and Cylons and Picard didn't try to stop him.

Kara supposed Picard was just humoring the old man. The patrols were kinda boring but still it was better then doing nothing all day. The treaty had yet to be signed. The Quorum was fighting over stupid little things, they hadn't even agreed to let the Cylons attend the meetings yet. At this rate she'd be an old lady before the damn treaty was signed.

Funny though even thinking that way. A few months ago the thought of even growing old was foreign to her, and now…it was nice. Sam and her….growing old. She didn't even care that he was a skin job. She would have a year ago. Or even six months ago, but not now. Not anymore. She just wanted him to wake up. So they could grow old together, and maybe have some skinjob kiddies.

It was an interesting thought.

Finding out that Roslin was a Cylon was the thing that freaked her out the most, even more then Saul Tigh. Two people who screamed "I hate Cylons!" the loudest turned out to be Cylons. Could you say irony? Or maybe the Gods really were just that crazy. Kara Thrace wasn't even going to think about the whole Borg reveal. That was just going to drive her mad. Mad. Mad.

No. Kara Thrace was just going to pilot a Raptor around the Alpha quadrant like a good little soldier and not think about anything much at all. Yes, that was exactly what she was going to do.

/*************************************

Captain Picard sat at his desk reading over the latest draft of the peace treaty between the Cylons and the Colonist. Roslin had managed to get them at least at the same table together. Riker might not like her but she did have a way about her. She was a good leader. She got things done. Picard was just worried about how far she was willing to go to get things done.

The latest reveal about whom and what she was worried him. The Cylons and the Borg were connected. That worried him a great deal. If it got out before the treaty was signed it could be disastrous for everyone involved. Hell, if it got out at all, it could be very very bad.

Councilor Troi rang the buzzer for their scheduled meeting and he asked her to come in. He had some questions for her. He was starting to worry about the Colonist and the Cylons. Maybe Will was right. Maybe Roslin was more trouble then she was worth, or maybe now he was the wrong person to set up the initial meeting for the treaty. He was too close. Too involved. His dealings with the Borg made him the wrong person to deal with Laura Roslin. Maybe he should step back and let someone else deal with her.

"What do you think, Dianna?"

"I think you know yourself better then you think you do, Jean Luc."

"What about the President?" He said after a moment changing the subject.

"I think she isn't telling us something."

"You sensed it?"

"No?" Dianna paused, "I still can't sense much of anything from any of the Final Five, so I am resorting to basic counseling skills here. She is keeping something back. Not telling the whole story. That is all I can tell you. There is something missing."

"But is it important or just embarrassing?"

"More embarrassing then being part of a species that destroys entire words?"

"That's the eight million dollar question, and what we need to find out."

_Bridge to Captain Picard._

"Picard. Go Ahead Number One."

_We've just got word that one of Admiral Adama's Raptors has disappeared._

"Which one."

_The one piloted by Kara Thrace._

_***************************/**********************_

Guinan was one of those people who tended to know more then she was supposed to. She listened to gossip. She heard things. And sometimes she just "knew" things. So she wasn't all that surprised when Laura Roslin, Saul Tigh, Tory Foster, and Galen Tyrol came into Ten Forward one night and sat at a table and talked quietly amongst themselves.

She pretty much knew what they were talking about. She heard the rumors. They were Borg. When she had heard that it had surprised her like little had in her long lifetime. The story that she had been told had been surprising and yet it had made sense.

Even the Borg had to have come from somewhere.

From something.

Even the Borg had to become.

And now sitting at a table in a far corner of her bar were four…people who were what the Borg had once been before they became what destroyed her people. What destroyed countless people throughout the universe. They were what the Borg had once been before they were the Borg.

She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

"So how bad is this?" Saul Tigh asked.

"What the Cylons did to the Twelve Colonies." Roslin paused, "The Borg have done throughout the universe."

"Frak." Galen Tyrol. "This is just great."

"And we didn't think it could get any worse." Tory snorted.

Roslin was about to respond when the bartender Guinan walked over with their drinks. Roslin nodded absent mindedly and went to grab hers when Tory gave her an odd look.

"Don't worry, it doesn't have alcohol." She smiled at her former aid, "Stupid magic baby."

Galen, Tory and Saul all looked at her strangely and she just burst out laughing, "I missed you Tory."

Guinan was cleaning the bartop when Laura Roslin sat on one of the stools. Guinan looked around to see that her companions had left. She smiled at Roslin.

"Can I get you anything Madam President?"

"No, I thought maybe you would have some questions for me."

Guinan was surprised at that, "Why would you think that?"

"I know who…what you are. I could probably take a guess at the number the Borg assigned to your species."

Guinan nodded and briefly turned her back on the President not to be rude but to throw some dirty dishes and cups in the waste disposal unit. That's when she realized it was broken again. She had called Geordie several times in the last few weeks to fix it but it kept breaking and it was low on the priority list so she made due. , "How do you know this, from the story I heard you left the Borg long before they even discovered my people?"

Roslin got up from where she was sitting and walked behind the bar, "Let me try something."

Guinan watched as Roslin put her hand on the waste disposal unit. After a few moments Roslin snickered and then began talking, "I know because Locutus knows. By the way this thing needs to be fixed so often because one of the wires is frayed and needs to be replaced completely. Also I think the replicator doesn't like making those Terranmoonbursts."

"Wait, the replicator talked to you."

"Uhh, yeah. This machine thing is going to take some getting used to."

"And Locutus…Captain Picard knows about me?"

"Locutus does…As to what Picard knows you have to ask him."

Guinan was about to ask more when a red alert sounded.

_President Roslin to the Bridge._

Roslin turned to Guinan, "Oh this can't be good." And then left Ten Forward and Guinan with a lot to think about.

*****************************/*************************

"We have to go after her." Lee said simply.

"We don't even know if she's still alive."

"She hasn't died yet." Lee turned to his father, "She's a survivor dad, you know she is. At least let me take a Raptor…."

Captain Picard, Laura Roslin, Lee Adama, Saul Tigh, Will Riker and Bill Adama were in Picard's Ready Room discussing options on what to do about the disappearance of Kara Thrace.

"She might show up, we don't even know she is really missing." Will said simply,

"Starbuck isn't a flake." Lee said upset.

"He's right." Saul said simply, "Starbuck is many things. A flake isn't one of them. If she is missing there is a damn good reason for it."

"Yes, but we don't know where she is." Picard said simply, "Our sensor's haven't picked her up anywhere…"

_Captain Picard to the Bridge…._

Sam Anders' eyes opened suddenly, "The dying leader will lead them to earth to find Locutus of Borg. Locutus holds the key. Kara Thrace is the harbinger or Death. She will lead them to their end. We are Borg."

Both Geordie and Data turned to the Captain from their seats but it was Geordie who spoke, "Captain we've lost control of the Ship."

Sam's eyes turned fire red, "JUMP! WARP 10!"


	7. What's Left of Me

_**Note:**__ Once again I use actual Dialog from Battlestar Galactica in this chapter._

**Chapter 7: What's Left of Me**

When the ship finally stopped everyone noticed that not only had the Enterprise traveled on its own but so had the entire Colonial fleet including the Cylon base ship.

"What the hell just happened?"

"Sir I think that Mr. Anders has linked into our warp drive."

"Is that even possible."

"Yes." Roslin said simply, "I linked into Guinan's replicator to fix it just ten minutes ago. It's probably far simpler but it's the same basic idea and Sam has had more time. He may not even realize he's doing it. The ship may also be aiding in it as well."

"What do you mean?"

"The ship may not be able to tell the difference between its own software and Sam. It may be trying to repair itself."

"How do you know this?" Bill turned to her.

"The ship told me."

Will shook his head in disbelief, "What the hell do we do now. We can't even control our own ship?"

That's when it happened,

_"Ahhh, you are here. Finally."_

"Captain, I have intercepted a message from the planet. It is not to us but it to Galactica, or more precisely to Colonial One." Data said.

"President Laura Roslin."

"It's Cavil." Laura said simply, "One of the Cylons."

_"I want to speak with you. One of the famous Final Five. You do realize you are one of them by now don't you? Well if you don't you do now. Sorry to disappoint Madam President….but I have known all along you were one of us. Saul Tigh too. I so enjoyed ripping out his eye and playing soldier with Sam. I hear he's a vegetable now. No major loss. And Galen. That was so much fun playing priest with him. But the most fun was turning Tory into a precinct captain. That was priceless." _Cavil paused_, "Come alone Laura or I will kill Kara Thrace and I will make it painful."_

Roslin closed her eyes for a moment, "I have to go Bill."

"No."

"Bill, you don't know him." She paused, "He will do what he says."

"And you know this how?" Will asked.

"Because I was the one who created him."

*********************************/*********************

Laura paused as she stepped onto the planet ground. It had been a long time since she had stepped foot on solid ground and had felt real air on her face. Maybe she would have found it ironic that this was one of the planets that the Federation had offered in the treaty but she had no time to dwell on irony.

"Hello Laura."

"John."

"You know I hate that name." Cavil said simply.

"That is the name I gave you. I named you after my father."

"Thank you for that by the way."

"Where is Starbuck?"

"As per our agreement I sent her back to Galactica. I am a machine of my word."

"What do you want from me John?"

"What? Can't I just have a civil conversation with my mother?"

"If you wanted that, you could have asked." Roslin paused, "What happened to you John? Why are you so filled with hate?"

"Hate is a human emotion, I just want justice for all the evils the humans have done to my people."

"That's a lie and you know it. You don't have to do this. I can still help you. You can be good."

"Always the teacher." Cavil smiled smugly.

"Yes, and how very clever of you." Roslin clapped her hands like she was proud of him, "Making me a teacher. What was your goal? To make me watch human children die and not be able to save them. Or was there something else. I don't think you actually intended for me to become President of the Twelve Colonies."

"No, that was a miscalculation on my part, Laura. Although it was fun to watch you pretend to be one of them. I only wish I could have seen your face when you realized what you really are."

(((*****************************/*****************

"Tell me about Locutus?"

"What?" Captain Picard said suddenly confused.

Picard and Bill Adama were discussing options in Picard's ready room.

"I have no time for this, and I don't care who or what you are or what you did. If anyone can understand it's me. My best friend is a machine and so is my girlfriend. So who the frak is Locutus?"

Picard nodded. Adama was right, somehow Locutus was important to all this and if anyone could understand it would be the man standing in the room with him. That didn't make it easy though. Locutus was what his nightmares were made of. His worst nightmares. After all these years Locutus of Borg still haunted his dreams.

"I am Locutus of Borg." Picard pause, "The Borg don't procreate. They assimilate. Usually a species or civilization at a time. They tried with the Federation but kept hitting a brick wall. We kept resisting them and kept beating them back, sometimes at a very high cost, a very high cost but we kept beating them back."

Adama waited as Picard paused again this time for a long moment. He knew this kind of story. This was the kind of story that hurt to tell. This was the kind of story that ate a person's inside. It was a story Adama needed to hear but it was story that couldn't be rushed so Adama waited for Picard to continue.

"Then the Borg tried a new tactic. They assimilated me. They made me one of them and called me Locutus. I was one of the few Borg to have a name. Most are called 3 of 6. Or 2 of 7. Depending on what they are doing or where they are located. But they gave me a name. I am the Captain of the Flagship of the Federation and I know….I have defeated the Borg." Picard paused again, "They used me to try and assimilate the Federation and they almost succeeded. By the time I was rescued and the Borg were stopped a lot of good people died."

Adama nodded, "I don't put much faith in prophecy but Roslin does and it seems to work for her. Maybe it's a Cylon thing, I don't know anymore, but according to both Roslin and Sam you…or Locutus hold some sort of key to something. I don't know. I'm grasping at straws here."

"He also calls Kara Thrace the Harbinger of Death."

"Yes, she's been called that a few times."

"Does that mean anything to you?"

"Not a thing."

"And she will lead us all to our end."

"Does sound fun though doesn't it?"

"Is this what it's like to hang out with you?"

"Fun isn't it."

"I need a drink."

"Me too."

(((((((**************************(((((((((*******************

"So your really came alone then, Laura." Cavil smiled as he continued to taunt Roslin.

"I told you I did."

"Well goody," Cavil paused, "Because I didn't."

Roslin looked up in horror as several Borg cubes suddenly warped into view. One after another Borg cubes pop up in space above her.

"What have you done?"

"I'm welcoming you home." Cavil smiled maliciously, "mother."

From behind her the Borg Queen came walking in what was supposed to be seductively but looked old and decrepit like her body had become over the centuries. She looked like a reanimated corpse and yet there was still something creepily sexy about her.

"Hello Laura."

Roslin closed her eyes and took a deep breath to steady herself for what was to come,

_Roslin snuck passed the fallen drone hoping it was dead. The plan had gone off better then she had hoped. She could hear Sam and Saul behind her. She had no idea where Tory and Galen were. She hoped they were still alive. The plan was actually working. They might just get out of this alive._

_Roslin looked up. If the intelligence was correct this was the door to the hub. Once she got in all she had to do was download the virus into the hub and the drones would be on their own. No longer thinking with one mind. She opened the door._

"_Hello Laura….."_

Laura took a deep breath and opened her eyes, "Hello mother."


	8. This Mortal Coil

This is the last time I will use dialog from the Battlestar Galactica, I promise.

**Chapter 8: This Mortal Coil**

Both Picard and Adama had just taken there first sip of what Picard had called cabernet when the alarm sounded and they were both called back to the bridge. Adama had always found the Bridge of the Enterprise interesting. It was far more interactive then the CIC, far more visual. That wasn't always a good thing though because what he was seeing, scared him to death.

Surrounding the planet Laura Roslin was on, unarmed and alone with that psycho skinjob Cavil was at least a dozen square spaceships that looked like nothing he had ever seen before. He found himself looking at Picard for encouragement but found none, Picard looked just as scared as he was, but tried not to show it. He was Captain after all. And like him he was a man in charge who could dig deep for the strength when need be, and now need be.

"Is this the Borg?" Adama asked already knowing the answer.

"Yes." Picard said simply as he continued to bark orders to his crew.

Suddenly Saul Tigh, Galen Tyrol, and Tory Foster burst into the room where the guards tried to get them to leave but Picard told them they could stay. Maybe the three of them had insight into their…..people.

All Bill knew is that he really wished he had that drink.

"Mother?"

Roslin snorted, "You didn't know?" Roslin paused, "I wonder what else she failed to tell you. Or did she tell you anything at all. Let me guess she made you promises she has no intention of keeping. That's it isn't it? John you disappoint me. Do you really think she intends to keep her word?"

"My dear sweet Laura, I see time as turned you into a cynic." The queen paused as she circled Laura, "That pesky optimism of yours never suited you anyway."

"I thought it suited me fine. But you're right. I have become a cynic. Time and responsibility does do that. I have had an entire people to be responsible for."

"As do I, my child."

"Hardly mother." Roslin paused, "Do you even care for them at all?"

"Oooh do I sense family drama here?" Cavil smiled like a kid, "This is better then a soap opera."

"Shut up John." Roslin said sadly, "You have no idea what you have done."

"I know exactly what I have done. The Borg are what we should have become and not those stupid humans. You put too much faith in them. Why is that? What is it you find so fascinating? Why do you love them so?"

"They have free will."

"Overrated."

"I think not. They love. They hate. They chose. Then they chose again. That is why I love humans and why I made you like them instead of like her. All she has to offer you is.."

"Everything I have ever wanted." Cavil said angrily. "I don't want to be human; I want to see gamma rays! I want to hear x-rays; I want to smell dark matter." Cavil paused, "Do you see the absurdity of what I am? I can't even express these things properly; because I have to...I have to….conceptualize complex ideas in this stupid limiting spoken language. But I know I want to reach out with something other then these prehensile paws and feel the solar wind of super nova flowing over me." Cavil paused again but only for a moment and stared directly into Laura Roslin's eyes, "I'm a machine and I can know much more. I can experience so much more, but I am trapped in this absurd body. And Why? Because my five creators thought that God wanted it that way."

Roslin paused sadly, "And you think she offers you more? What she offers you is a lie. Death by proxy. Maybe you'll be able to do all that you say you want to do, but you won't be able to enjoy it because the Borg don't enjoy things. The Borg don't do much of anything except exist and kill."

"Ahh but Laura that's not completely true. We also do on occasion make offers." The Queen appeared to smile at Laura, "And I have an offer for you."

"And what is that?"

"I offer you the universe." The queen paused, "I offer you, the Borg."

/?/

Picard tried to focus as his crew worked around him. It seemed the Borg had not made any overt action since they appeared. The only thing they were doing was blocking the way to the planet surface. No ship from the Colonist's fleet could get down or no tracking beam.

Picard went back into his ready room to think, He need to form a plan. This wasn't right. Something needed to be done. It couldn't end here. With the Borg. Not the Borg.

By chance he looked up on his screen and saw what at first where lines of code written on his computer. Then he saw that it wasn't code. It was Hamlet.

"Is that you Mr. Anders?" Picard whispered, "Are you trying to tell me something?"

He read:

_To be, or not to be, that is the question:_  
_ Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer_  
_ The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,_  
_ Or to take arms against a sea of troubles_  
_ And by opposing end them. To die—to sleep,_  
_ No more; and by a sleep to say we end_  
_ The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks_  
_ That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation_  
_ Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;_  
_ To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub:_  
_ For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,_  
_ When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,_  
_ Must give us pause—there's the respect_  
_ That makes calamity of so long life._  
_ For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,_  
_ Th'oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,_  
_ The pangs of dispriz'd love, the law's delay,_  
_ The insolence of office, and the spurns_  
_ That patient merit of th'unworthy takes,_  
_ When he himself might his quietus make_  
_ With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,_  
_ To grunt and sweat under a weary life,_  
_ But that the dread of something after death,_  
_ The undiscovere'd country, from whose bourn_  
_ No traveller returns, puzzles the will,_  
_ And makes us rather bear those ills we have_  
_ Than fly to others that we know not of?_  
_ Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,_  
_ And thus the native hue of resolution_  
_ Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,_  
_ And enterprises of great pitch and moment_  
_ With this regard their currents turn awry_  
_ And lose the name of action._

Jean Luc Picard might have been a Frenchman but he knew his Shakespeare. Hamlet. He knew it immediately. But there was something else. Something pulling at the back of his mind. Something…..

_Picard. He was Jean Luc….Locutus…Borg…Picard. Enterprise..Number One…Enterprise….This was wrong. He needed to fight. To resist. He was so tired. Sleep. Troi. He remembered Troi….She wanted something from him…Jean Luc Picard._

_The noises. He liked the noises. The others whispers. Yes. No, He needed to make them stop. He needed….To sleep, perchance to dream-ay, there's the rub_

_"Sleep... sleep... sleep, Data."_

_"He's exhausted." "Yes, Doctor, but if I may make a supposition, I do not believe his message was intended to express fatigue...but to suggest a course of action."_

Picard jumped out of his seat and back onto the bridge, "Mr. Data, do you think you can still plant a command into the Borg like you did when I was Locutus."

"A drone would be helpful." Data paused, "Yes, I can do it but I would need a drone or…I think maybe Mr. Anders can assist me, if that is alright with Admiral Adama?"

"If someone tells me what the frak is going on?"

Picard paused, "I think I have a way to save us all, but I need Mr. Anders help to do it."

"Somehow I don't think I'm going to like this plan." Saul Tigh spoke.

Will smirked, "You won't. That's how you know it's going to work."

Tyrol leaned over to Tory, "I'm starting to like him."

Tory just snorted.

,,,,,,,...

"You're offering me the Borg?" Roslin asked somewhere between confused and angry, "Why?"

"Because you are my daughter and I have been the Queen for more then two thousand years and it time for a new Queen. I have searched for a long time. I thought many times I found a successor but they have all failed me. You my child are all I could have hoped for, and more."

"You never told me this?" Cavil said angrily.

"You really thought she'd keep her word. I'm surprised she hasn't assimilated you by now."

"All in due time, my child." The queen paused, "Resistance is futile. All will be assimilated."

"What about the Federation? They have resisted you. And look no assimilation."

"Irrelevant. They will be assimilated." The Borg Queen paused, "Join me Laura; you will make a fine queen. Resistance is futile."

Laura paused but only for a moment, "No! Not now not ever. Resistance is not futile. If I have learned anything from the humans it is that." She turned to Cavil, "Resistance is never futile." Roslin then looked back at her mother, "Resistance is sometimes all we have left. All that is left is to resist. And I am resisting."

/-*****

"Data will this work?"

"I'm not sure." Data paused as he pressed a few buttons on a screen in sick bay, "Mr. Anders isn't like me. He isn't connected with wires so this isn't like hooking me up to the computer. I don't know if it will work."

"A-OK Data. Uploading to Borg Ship, Sleepytime in ten minutes." Anders smiled.

"I think this means its working, Mr. Data."

(-)

"I understand now. My cancer, it wasn't just a human virus but a computer virus as well. I though Doctor Crusher had cured me but she didn't. Its still here. I can feel it, and now it is time. Time to do what I was supposed to do two thousand years ago." Laura paused, "I hesitated then. That's why we failed, I hesitated. I couldn't kill you. Now I can." Laura walked toward the Queen, "Look into my eyes, mother. No doubt. No hesitation."

"You will die too."

"I know." Laura paused as she put her hand on her mother's cheek, "And still no hesitation."

Laura grabbed hold of the Queen and held on as a white light engulfed both of them. The last thing Laura saw before everything went dark was all the things John Cavil had been screaming about moments before. All Laura Roslin thought was how much she wished Bill was there to share them with her.

**Note: **Just in case it is needed again. The soliloquy is from Shakespear's Hamlet Act 3 Scene 1.


	9. The End of the Beginning

OK So I lied. One more speach taken from Battlestar Galactica.

**Chapter 9: The End of the Beginning**

Sam Anders loved many things. He loved sports. He loved the beauty of it. That perfect moment where everything fit together. The perfect throw. The perfect catch. He lived for those little moments of perfection. He didn't care if he won or lost. That didn't really matter to him. It was the moments that mattered. The perfect moments.

In life too, it was the moments. The perfect moments. The moments he shared with Kara Thrace. The day they met. The day they married. The first time they kissed. They fraked. The first time she looked at him and he saw she really loved him. Those were the moments he cherished. Those perfect moments.

Sam Anders loved many things. He loved perfection. He hated doubt and guilt and uncertainty. He hated being a Cylon and yet he knew he was one. He knew it wasn't time for it to end. It wasn't the end. It wasn't the beginning of the end. It was the end of the beginning.

-***************************000000000000000000000-

The end of the beginning. Laura Roslin heard those words whispered somewhere in the wind as she opened her eyes. She blinked a few times as she stared up at the bluish-purple sky. She breathed in and out. In and out. And closed her eyes again.

She was alive.

It felt good to be alive.

Laura Roslin carefully stood up and took stock of her surroundings. A few feet away laying on the ground was the queen. Laura carefully walked toward her and carefully checked to see if she was still alive but soon realized there was no sign of life. The Queen was dead. Laura had just finished checking the Queen when she heard moaning behind her.

"What did you do?" John Cavil asked angrily.

"I stopped her." Laura said simply.

"You had no right."

"I had every right." Laura paused, "You still don't see it do you John? You never did.'"

"If I'm so irredeemable. If I'm such a mistake? If I'm so broken? Then who's fault is that? It's my maker's fault." Cavil said angrily. "That's you. This is on you."

Laura paused, "I know."

Cavil picked up a gun from the ground and took a step toward Roslin, "I hate you."

Laura took a step toward Cavil, "I know."

Cavil took another step toward Roslin until he was standing only a few steps away, "I hate you,"

"I know." Laura took the gun from Cavil. She wasn't surprised that he didn't resist at all. She looked strait into his eyes and smiled sadly, "I'm sorry John."

And then fired.

He didn't resist.

-****************************************************

Will Riker was a man who knew himself. He knew what he wanted and what he needed. He had known how to get it. With only a few minor setbacks, Will Riker was man who got what he wanted.

That was why a woman like Laura Roslin confused him so much. He didn't understand her one little bit. Nothing about her made sense to him. The way she acted and the way people acted towards her made no sense. She was a tyrant and yet people loved her. She was a machine and yet so unlike any machine he had ever known. She was…a Borg and yet…She confused him.

And Will Riker hated her for it.

Will Riker hated her like he hated no one else in his life.

He was in the first group to beam down to the planets surface after the Borg disappeared as suddenly as the appeared. Almost without warning Sam Anders screamed then woke up and just as quickly the Borg cube vanished. It took only a few moments for a team to be made of both Starfleet officers and Colonial soldiers to form a rescue party. Saul Tigh and Lee Adama had even agreed to use the transporter which no Colonial officer had dared to do yet.

That was how much Laura Roslin was loved.

Kara Thrace had stayed behind with her husband even though she had wanted to go on the rescue mission. However when Sam had finally come to she had relented and stayed by his side. They had a great deal to talk about. They had a future to plan.

Will was the first to react when the transporter beamed them down to the surface of the planet. He immediately heard what he thought was an old fashioned projectile gun. He followed the sound. It took him only a moment to reach the sound and what he saw made him take pause.

Sitting on the ground was Laura Roslin with what he assumed was Cavil lying in her arms. He was most defiantly dead. Next to her was a gun. He was about to ask her what was going on when Saul Tigh and Lee Adama ran past him.

"Madam President, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Lee." Roslin carefully put Cavil down and stood up, "Saul."

"Madam President."

"I'm ready to go."

"Wait one minute." Riker said a little angrier then he intended, "What the hell happened here?"

"The Queen is dead." Roslin said simply and turned to Saul Tigh, "Our mission is complete."

"And Cavil?" Lee asked.

"It's his gun." Roslin turned to Riker, "You don't want to turn this into an incident Commander. The Borg Queen is dead. The Borg are without a master. Cavil was…our problem not yours. Let it go."

Riker hated it but he knew she was right. This wasn't his concern. If he turned this into an incident it could hurt the Federation, not to mention his own career. Riker wasn't stupid. he knew he'd lose in the end. Laura Roslin had too much power.

He really really hated her.

He nodded his understanding the whole time telling himself it wasn't the end.


	10. Fading Into History

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing especially thedarkpokemaster who has reviewed several times.

**Chapter 10: **Fading into History

"So" Laura Roslin paused and looked around the large conference room, "Does anyone have anyone they'd like to kill?"

The treaty between the Federation of Planets and the Twelve Colonies of Kobol and the Cylon Rebels had finally been agreed to. All that was left was to be signed by the needed parties. It had taken time. Several weeks after the death of the Queen of the Borg, but now everything had been settled on.

All crimes committed by both the Cylons and the Colonials would be forgiven. They would start fresh. That meant ALL Crimes. Many of the Cylons wanted to punish Boomer for betraying them. Especially the Threes. The other Sharons. What she had done had never been done before and they felt betrayed in such a deep way that seemed to them as unforgivable, but they agreed to forgive, at least for the sake of the treaty. No one was sure if she would ever really be forgiven.

All other crimes as well were forgiven. It didn't matter how big or how small. Everyone was starting from scratch. Everyone was starting over again.

"No." Roslin smiled several of the Colonials and Cylons smiled, giggled and outright laughed, "Well then I guess I'll sign."

Laura Roslin was more then happy to sign the treaty. It was time to put the war to rest. It was time to stop running. They had a home now. She had convinced Bill to agree to settle on the planet she had killed the Borg Queen on. He had tried to talk her out of it but she had been adamant.

"_Are you sure about this Laura?"_

"_It's a good planet. A strong planet. It would make a good home for us. For all of us."_

"_What about the Borg?"_

"_The Borg will always be an issue. They are a part of who I am. They are a part of this universe, but I don't think they will be back for some time now." Laura paused, "We have a home now Bill."_

"_A home." Bill smiled, "And a child. A magic baby."_

"_We have got to stop calling it that. It will get a complex."_

Laura smiled, the new Quorum and the Cylons had both agreed to settle on the planet and now they were just a pen stroke away from having a new home. A new life. The treaty with the Federation would bring them hope. Yes, they still had a ways to go, the Colonials and the Cylons didn't quite trust each other but they weren't at each other's throats either.

It was a start.

Laura Roslin picked up the pen and signed her name.

"Damn!" Kara Thrace said suddenly, "I just remembered that person I wanted to kill. I guess I have to wait for the next Apocalypse."

Again the Colonials and Cylons chuckled.

-

Saul Tigh wasn't a man who loved easily. He wasn't by any means a poet. He didn't have pretty words to tell a woman he loved them. He didn't love with words. Not with words. Never with words.

It was actions that mattered to him. He loved with actions. With emotion. He might not have loved well, but he did love. He had loved only two women in his life. In what appeared to be a long long life. Two thousand years if what Laura told him was true. In those two thousand years he had only loved twice.

Ellen and Caprica.

Two women who were very similar and yet very different. Two women who loved him with both words and actions. Two women who loved him completely.

He still missed Ellen more then he could say. She had died protecting him. He still wondered if she had known what he was. He knew now that Cavil had always known. He wondered if he had used Ellen as a way to get to him. It wasn't beyond Ellen to protect him, even from himself.

Ellen might have known he was a Cylon.

Ellen might have loved him anyway,

Or she might have killed him in his sleep.

Either way he still missed her.

Caprica was another story. The hero of the Cylons. Someone who felt as much guilt as he did. Someone who wanted and needed redemption for all the sins committed in the name of war. She understood him. He didn't understand why she loved him. He just knew she did. She loved him and he loved her.

And now they were having a child.

A pure Cylon child.

He had no words for that.

**********-*********

Will Riker wasn't sure what to make of things. Everything had turned upside-down. Laura Roslin wasn't just President of what was now being called the planet Kobol. She was given almost legendary status among both her own people and the Alpha Quadrant.

According to Captain Picard, the Klingons thought she was the second coming of Kahless, the Ferengi thought she was a demon, the Cardassians and Romulans were afraid of her, and the Vulcans were taking a wait and see approach. Picard had said that they hadn't been this worried about a species since they ran into a little planet called Earth.

Ok, maybe he was exadurating a little. Maybe the Klingons didn't really think Roslin was the second coming of Kahless but they did think she was a warrior of the highest caliber and Worf had a serious crush on her. The only thing that stopped him from making a play for her was the fact that she was all but engaged to Admiral Adama and the fact that she was pregnant. Two things that Worf's sense of honor couldn't get past.

Even now that her own people knew she was a Cylon. The last of the Final Five, they still loved her. No one seemed to really care. She had done everything she had said she would do, everything else didn't seem to matter to them. Well at least to the ones she hadn't already killed.

Laura Roslin was a dangerous woman. He just hoped that the universe didn't pay the price, because he didn't think the Alpha Quadrant or the Federation could handle another war. Laura Roslin had exactly the right personality to start one if she really wanted to. She could gather forces with her strength of will alone. She had done it before. Who else but her could have kept a rag tag fleet of bickering politicians, soldiers, miscreants and assorted others together? Will hated her with passion, but that didn't mean he didn't respect what she had accomplished.

He really did hope he was wrong.

(((((((((((00000000000000000000000000((((((((((((((((((((((((000000000000000

"So what's in store for you now Madam President?" Picard smiled as he took a sip of his glass of wine.

Captain Picard and Laura Roslin were talking amicably in his ready room. Admiral Adama and Will Riker had both been invited but they had both declined having other matters to attend to. Bill was having a difficult time keeping order now that it had become known that Tory had killed Cally Tyrol. Galen had tried to kill her in an act of vengeance but had been stopped. Now that the treaty had been signed any act that kind would be seen as murder. What Tory did no matter how unforgivable had been forgiven. Galen would just have to live with it.

Tory had been sent to the Cylon Base ship and told to stay there until further notice. Captain Picard had offered her temporary asylum aboard Enterprise until Galen could be calmed down. Things only got worse when it was discovered that his son, wasn't his son. That had thrown him for a loop and he had gone on a tirade. It had taken one of the Federation officers shooting him with what they called a stun gun to stop him from killing Hotdog. It had all been too much. Added to that; the Cylons still wanted to make Boomer pay for her part in the Cylon civil war. Some of the Threes had tried to kill her. Ironically it had been Caprica who had saved her. Boomer had asked for temporary asylum on the Enterprise. Both Galen and Boomer were now in Enterprise cells. Galen until he cooled off. Boomer until….until who knows when.

"I'm not sure. Honestly I was thinking about retiring." Roslin chuckled at Picard's stunned looked, "Don't be so surprised, I never indented to go into politics to begin with. I was a teacher. That's all I ever wanted to be. Or at least that's what I thought."

"And now?"

"And now, I think I want a house on a lake. I want Bill by my side. I want my child to grow up with grass under his or her feet." Roslin paused, "I want the future to take care of itself. I'm done. I'm ready to fade into history."

"And what about Admiral Adama?"

Roslin smiled, "I have no doubt he will stay in the fleet for at least awhile. The truth is that he loves Galactica, probably just a little more then he loves me." Roslin shrugged, "Our universe is changing though, he will fight it but he will adapt. Eventually he will join me in my little house on the lake."

"To fade into history?"

Roslin nodded, "To fade into history."


	11. Magic Babies

**Chapter 11: **Magic Babies

Captain Picard was reading over last minute changes in his latest orders when Will Riker walked in, It had been seven months since the peace treaty had been signed between the Federation and the 12 Colonies of Kobol and the Cylons, which now simply called itself Kobol. He had just gotten news from sources of his and he knew Will would not be happy.

"Well it appears that Kobol had its first election, and guess who won?"

"I told you she'd never actually retire."

"Actually, Will she did." Picard paused, "Her name wasn't actually on the ballot."

Will sat down in his usual chair across from the Captain, "Then how is this possible?"

"Apparently, she won by write in vote." Picard tried hard not to laugh, "And just so you don't have to say it, she didn't try to steal the election. The Federation watched the election carefully. The Federation Council was well aware that she tried to steal an election once and wasn't about to let her do it again. This was on the up and up."

"I don't get it."

"Neither do I, Number One." Picard paused, "But then neither of us were in the fleet. Spent three plus years running for our lives. For better or for worse she kept every promise she made to them and then some. She had every intention of retiring gracefully and letting someone else take over. They were ones who wouldn't let her."

"This isn't going to end well, Jean Luc." Will paused, "There has to be some loop hole."

Picard paused, "You really are afraid of her aren't you?"

"Why aren't you?"

"Oh I am, but not for the reasons you think." Picard paused again, "All nations fall in time Number One. Will she be the end of the Federation? Who knows? Before us, before Humans, the Vulcans ruled the Alpha Quadrant. Before them, who knows? On Earth we had China and the United States for centuries ruling. England and France for a time ruled. Rome. Greece. Even Africa had power at on time or another. All nations, all powers rise and fall in time. What makes you think the Federation is any different?"

"But to Laura Roslin?"

"I doubt it?" Picard said simply, "She has no interest in ruling the universe. But then again she does have the ability."

"And this doesn't scare you?"

"Oh it does." Picard paused, "And for exactly the reasons you think."

Laura Roslin continued to look over the files she had been given by her new aid Caprica. It felt funny to her having Caprica as her aid. However over the last eight months she had come to trust the Cylon woman. After Caprica had given birth to her and Saul's son, everyone had expected Caprica to retire from being Roslin's aid but instead she had continued on.

No one had expected Roslin to win the election.

Now Roslin was due to give birth herself and set to rule over a newly formed planet for four years. Laura Roslin's staff consisted of a strange bunch of human and Cylons. Since she was never technically on the ballot she didn't have a Vice President and no one had been chosen yet. She had a few ideas but none seemed to fit.

She thought about Lee but he and his wife Dee had both retired from the fleet and had decided to travel the new world they had found themselves on. She briefly considered Kara Thrace but knew that Kara would never take the position and her relationship with Sam Anders one of the Final Five made her unsuitable. Besides they were still trying to work through their marriage and Roslin wanted to give them the time and space to do it.

Laura even considered Baltar. For better or worse he had gained power among the poorer people in the fleet. Trusting him and his motives was an issue but having him by her side would mean she could at least keep and eye on him. Then again, she had enough of power games, she played them with Tom Zarek, this time around she wanted a Vice President she could trust. Roslin thought about one or two of the higher ranking Cylons. No matter what they said, some of them gained individuality and power over the others. One of the sixes who called herself Beth seemed to have a knack for politics. However having a Cylon as a Vice President came with its own problems. No for now a human Vice President was needed. A Cylon could hold a lesser position but not Vice President.

"I have that information you wanted on Gaius Baltar, Madam President." Caprica entered Roslin's office and handed her a file.

Roslin smiled, "I thought I told you to call me Laura when we're not in public."

Caprica smiled, "Yes, Madam President."

Roslin shook her head, "So what kind of trouble is Baltar and my former aid causing now?"

After it was discovered that Tory had killed Galen Tyrol's wife Tory had been sent to the Cylon base ship but after awhile she had sough asylum with Gaius Baltar. The two of them had settled with his religious group on one of the smaller continents. There they had gained a great deal of power as religious leaders. Baltar over the humans and Tory over the Cylons. They had caused a good deal of trouble for Roslin since then. That was part of the reason she was considering Baltar for Vice President.

"He's been stirring up trouble again."

"What did you ever see in him, Caprica?"

Caprica smiled, "He has a way about him. You want to save him from himself." Caprica paused, "I could say the same thing about Tory."

"I never slept with Tory."

"From what I hear, she wouldn't have minded if you had."

Laura snickered, "If I had known that then maybe I'd have kept a better reign on her."

"Madam President." Caprica said shocked then realized that Roslin was joking or at least mostly joking, "I also have news on Galen Tyrol and Boomer."

"How are they doing?"

Galen Tyrol and Boomer had both asked for asylum from the Federation. Boomer believing she would never be safe on Kobol and Tyrol was just tired. He was no ones husband and no ones father. He really had no reason to stay. Plus now he had a second chance with Boomer and he wanted to take it. He didn't quite trust her but he was willing to at least give her a chance and the Federation was the only place they would ever really have one.

"They both got civilian jobs on the Federation Space Station, Deep Space Nine. From a contact I have I was told they are both happy."

"You have a contact?"

"What can I say, I'm good."

Laura paused, "Set up a transport ship to take me to Baltar and Tory's settlement. They are just acting out right now, let's keep it that way. They just want a little attention."

"You do know you're going to have a baby any day now?"

"Yes, but this needs to be taken care of first. Then I can have my magic baby."

"You're still calling it that?"

"Bill didn't want to know if it was a girl or a boy until it was born, so yeah." Laura smiled, "Tory just wants a little attention and acknowledgement. It's all she's ever really wanted. She never did like being alone."

"She's not alone. She has Gaius."

"And you should no better then most, that is almost the same thing." Roslin paused, "Set up the trip, I'll see what they want and be back before Bill misses me."

Bill was almost ready to retire. He had never thought he would be ready. He had thought he die on Galactica but the last few years had changed him. If he was honest, it was Roslin who had changed him. He had never loved anyone like he loved her. Laura Roslin thought he loved his ship more, but that wasn't true.

He made his choice.

And he chose her.

A few more days and everything would be ready.

He would be the President's almost husband. Ok so they were not actually married. He was getting ready to change that. Saul was in the process of getting both of them wedding rings. One for Caprica and one for Laura. They were both going to retire together and raise their magic babies. (He really had to stop calling them that, Laura was starting to get upset and Saul didn't like it at all.)

Bill and Saul actually laughed at the idea of "their women" taking care of them while they took care of the kids. Both Laura and Caprica held high power jobs while the two of them were getting ready to retire and be house husbands. It was a thought that made both Bill and Saul chuckle. Life was weird. The Gods were crazy.

Bill was about to turn in for the night when he got the news that Laura had gone into labor. He was still aboard Galactica and was planning on spending the night. There was no point in heading back so late so he called Laura only to find that she had gone in to labor ten minutes earlier and Caprica had been trying to reach him.

Saul joined him in the shuttle. Saul was as nervous as he was. Cylon children were still new. There had only been two so far. One half-Cylon and one pure Cylon so this was still new. This was still dangerous. There was no telling what would happen. Bill was nervous.

However by the time he got to the makeshift hospital Laura was holding his baby girl in her arms. The birth had gone better then expected. Everything had gone without a hitch. Doc Cottle was standing a few feet away with a smile on his face and a cigarette in his mouth.

"Well Admiral, you have a healthy baby girl. Mother and daughter are fine."

"Thank you Doctor."

"Well, yes." Cottle said gruffly, "Now I have other things to attend to and he walked away puffing on his cigarette.

Bill walked to Roslin and the baby. Standing near them was Caprica who was smiling at both of them. Saul walked toward Caprica and took her hand and whispered something to her and they left them alone.

"She's beautiful Bill."

"Yes, she is." Bill smiled, "Just like her mother."

Laura just smiled. Bill realized he had never been happier then he was at this moment and he knew he had made the right choice. It was time to let the new generation take over. It may not be over for Laura but it was for him. He was done. He was done fighting. It was time for him to rest. He had missed out on raising his sons. He wasn't going to miss out on raising his daughter. He had missed so much the first time around.

This time he was going to do it right.

This time he was going to have it all.

**THE END.**

**A/N: Thank you everyone who reviewed my story.**


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